A 'martyr's week' being observed by Maoist rebels from Saturday in Chhattisgarh's trouble-torn Bastar region has affected normal life in the remote hilly pockets with transporters keeping their vehicles off the roads apprehending violence, police said.

'Forces in Bastar region have been kept on high alert. As per reports coming in from the interiors of forested villages mainly from Kanker and Narayanpur districts, transporters have kept their vehicles off the road and people have preferred to remain indoors,' a senior police officer told IANS on phone.

Thousands of paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police personnel have been deployed in and around government buildings and establishments in Bastar as a part of stepped up security arrangements to counter possible militant attacks.

Last week, police found several posters and leaflets in the interiors of Bastar, mainly around the Durgkondal locality in Kanker district, in which they stated their plans of observing a 'martyr's week' from July 28 in memory of rebel commanders who were recently killed in encounters with the security forces.

Police estimate that thousands of Maoists armed with AK-47 rifles, mortar, rocket launchers and landmines are active in the state.